Established software development processes like IBM's Iterative Rational Unified Process (IRUP) currently create and deliver architectural diagrams. However, architectural diagrams like those provided through IRUP serve only a limited audience within the software development process (i.e., the diagrams speak primarily to software engineers responsible for the development of the code that makes up the solution. They are not intended for other members of the development process such as quality assurance (QA) engineers, information developers, professional services, sales/technical sales, marketing, and customers).
When developing large software projects, such as open source or enterprise solutions, the size and scope of all of the processes and components that make up a solution and how those processes and components are connected and interact, can become extremely difficult for any single person to comprehend. The difficulty in comprehending what really makes up a solution lies in the unavailability of information about those components and processes and how they interact with each other.
Solutions without standardized development processes that produce architectural diagrams can be particularly difficult for a single person to understand.
Hybrid solutions that involve both standardized development processes which produce architectural diagrams (like IRUP), and non-standardized development processes, currently have no way to easily map the entire solution. There is no easy way to map non-standardized development processes alongside the standardized development efforts.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for addressing these issues. The present invention addresses such a need.